What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Pretty Bits, Happy Boys, And MORE FOOD

{A few Pretties}








{What Makes Farmer Boy Happy}



Corn is the latest and greatest garden produce on Andrew's mind these days. I am coming to realize that he enjoys the anticipation of gardening more than anything else, because he anticipates squash until they begin to produce.  He anticipates beans and cukes and when they begin to produce he moves on to the next thing coming on.  "When will the watermelons be ready?  The corn is NEARLY there!"  After that, it will probably be pumpkins and squash.

I could probably draw an analogy to my own life there- but I'll leave it for today.  ;-)


{It's Funny What A Mama Will Do For Sanity}



The one thing I absolutely hate about Hopestead (if I could whine a bit) is that it happens to be on a country hill road which means that people can FLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYY down it without thinking a thing about it.  And it just so happens that our barn is on the OTHER side of the road which makes the proverbial OTHER SIDE of the road very, very, very enticing.  This has been my biggest challenge while living here.  And especially, in regards to Judahbear.

He sees the big kids riding their bikes in the road and wants to ride there too.  He wants to cross the road and go to the barn to see Papa.  Or, at the very least, Papa's tractor.  He wants to play in the sawdust pile that just happens to be ACROSS THE ROAD.  That road has been the bane of my existence here at  Hopestead.  It is, if you would, my 'story of woe'.

At canning time, I am far too busy to be running outside every five minutes to see if/when/where Judah has put himself into danger so something had to be done.  Something HAD to give.

Much to the surprise of everyone who knows me (and the delight of one brown-eyed boy), I made the executive decision to allow trike riding in the house.  Trike riding in the house?!  (gasp!)  Yes.  Totally. It is a pretty good house for it too- because the rooms are all connected with stairs in the middle making a nice circle for biking.

Two rules apply:

1)  The wheels need to be clean
2) The Kitchen is a NO BIKE zone when filling hot canning jars.

It has worked like a charm.  I don't have to worry about him heading on down the road if he is cycling through the living room.


{Real Work}









I feel quite like I haven't left the kitchen all week.  Yesterday, for example, I remember watering the pony and jersey twice.  I remember sitting on the front porch for about 15 minutes (until I got chilled! ack!  Where is summer!).  I remember blogging the video for a few minutes (5?) and that was it.  The rest of the time, from 5:30am until bedtime I was IN THE KITCHEN.  When you can add up your minutes away from the kitchen and be under a half hour for the whole day, I think it is safe to say my feelings are justified.

And that has been how it has been all week.  And that is how it will continue to be until the weekend.

While I can, I like to listen to things.  Sermons, lectures, debates.  I've told you about that before.  Yesterday I got the bright idea to check out youtube.  What did I stumble upon, but Wartime Farm.  I watched the first episode while plucking elderberries from stems.  Neat stuff, that.

My canning chores might even last long enough to get through  The Wartime Kitchen and Garden.

And that is my week categorized in four nice, tidy little bits.
If only my house were so orderly.


round button chicken

10 comments:

Bonnie said...

Love it all. I am having serious garden envy, the weather has swung back and forth so drastically here that my garden looks like September. I'm going to have to buy beans (probably) and tomatoes. (weep weep gnash gnash)
My kiddos love Judah in the kitchen, I love the blue and sunflowers, and did you stencil your table?

Mary said...

What happened to your outdoor canning kitchen of last year ?

Cristina said...

Your pictures are all beautiful! I love the indoor trike riding, I would do it in a heartbeat if we had the room!

Julian said...

Such nice pretty bits. I love thoes bits! Inspires my creativity. ;) you're a good moma to allow trike riding in the house. I remember one year my brother rode his hotwheels down the stairs and got a rug burn on his face! Keep up the good work! Christina

Rebecca said...

Bonnie- rats! It was a weird year, that is FO SHO. Every time a year like that is had, I think it is humbling to realize we have VERY LITTLE to do with a successful garden. The Lord has everything to do with it because in a moment, the whole thing could be ruined. Also- it always makes me eternally grateful for the fact that we don't have to rely solely upon our own foodstuffs to survive winter and, in the case of a bad year, there is still always the grocery store. Imagine the stress of having a bad year when that was IT- all the food that you were to eat. As for the table- that was the kitchen table here for decades, so I can't really take any credit for it. I love the stenciling- hate the watermarks (that *I* did! oops.)

Mary- it will be making an appearance soon. So far, the canning I am doing hasn't really required a lot of space. It is more cut and fill and can.

When the tomatoes and apples come though- WATCH OUT! ;-) I may even break it out for the cukes because...well, they are burying me alive!

Christina- thank you! I had to put my foot down when Corynn and Andrew asked if they could bring THEIR bikes in. That was a different story altogether!

Charlotte (WaltzingM) said...

Your pictures are gorgeous but I love the blue dishes with the yellow sunflower best! One of my favorite color combinations! And we used to allow the tricycle in the house thing too for my youngest son. One day, he came racing towards me with a pink bandana over his head and his 9 year old brother pushing him from behind shouting "turn right!" just before he hit me. Then he was headed down the hallway and I hear my older son shout "turn left!" just before they hit the wall. I asked, "What are you doing?" My oldest said, "Mom, it's just directional lessons. I'm teaching him his left and right!" Good times! No walls were ever damaged and he did learn his right from his left.

Todd said...

Nice pictures of the clouds.

Paula said...

My husband was so busy when he was little (yet he has NO IDEA where Ella gets it) that my MIL used to let him ride his trike in the kitchen too. Made me smile seeing you little guy.

Full of Grace said...

Your photos have been so beautiful lately :) Looks like you've been as busy as me, just in different ways! :) Hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend!! :)

Abigail said...

At the beginning of this week (full o' cutting, stuffing, and canning on this end, too), I also brought a bike into the kitchen. Zeke has been so clingy, and it was a lifesaver.

And, um, I'm still looking for any evidence of canning mess. "If only my house were so orderly."
Pish! I see clear floor space! :)